Children's Home run by Middlesbrough Borough Council in Middlesbrough

Inspection report children’s home: SC472374 1 SC472374 Registered provider: Middlesbrough Borough Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and managed by a local authority. It provides care for up to four children who may have physical disabilities and/or learning disabilities.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The registered manager recently left his post, but he remains registered with Ofsted. An interim manager is in day-to-day charge in the home and is applying for registration.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 28 January 2020

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC472374 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/01/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness 01/10/2019 Full Good 20/03/2019 Interim Not judged 05/02/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: SC472374 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in the home for long periods and view it as their home. They build strong, trusting relationships with staff. These relationships are at the heart of children’s experiences. There is a relatively low rate of staff turnover and children are growing up in the care of the same adults. This means that children become familiar with expectations and respond positively to the care they receive. As a result, children make excellent progress from their starting points.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s educational needs are met through full-time attendance at school. This provides them with daily structure, as well as academic learning and preparation for their futures. Staff advocate on behalf of children when school placements do not meet children’s needs. For one child, this made a remarkably positive difference to their experience of going to school.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children are healthy. Children attend routine and more urgent appointments, including for vaccinations. Staff understand the difficulties that some children have in attending these appointments. Staff work with professionals to find creative solutions so that children receive the care that they need. This has been particularly important during the COVID-19 pandemic, when routine medical care has been more difficult to access.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children engage in activities that meet their physical, emotional and social needs. Staff provide a wide range of games and toys in the home for children to enjoy. Significant thought is given to helping children to engage in the wider community. For example, one child regularly attends a local surfing club. This approach helps the child to learn about their right to take part in activities that other children do. It also broadens adults’ views about the capabilities of children with disabilities.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a home that is well maintained and meets their needs. Some children choose the decor and location of their bedrooms. Other children have bedrooms that provide very low stimulus. Staff work with parents to ensure that children moving into the home have the individualised surroundings that they need. This helps children to settle and reassures family members.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children develop their self-care skills. Staff help children to understand and communicate their needs. Children begin to make choices, for example about what they want to eat or activities they wish to take part in. For some children, this is significant progress and means that they become more independent. This also gives them a powerful message about their self-worth and their right to be heard.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to maintain links with their family. For some children, their parents contribute significantly to how their care is provided. This reassures children and adults, particularly when children first move into the home. This involvement also helps staff to provide the care that children need most. Inspection report children’s home: SC472374 4

p.3

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

High staffing levels ensure that children receive the supervision that they need. Regardless of this, staff recognise children’s vulnerabilities and prepare missing- from-home protocols for every child. This approach means that children do not go missing and do not come to harm in the home.

p.4

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children’s incidents reduce in number and severity over time. Staff prepare positive behaviour plans for all children. These plans are refined as staff become more familiar with children’s needs. For some children, the reduction in such incidents is remarkable. The impact of this is observed in other settings, including during family time and in school. As children become more settled, they make progress in all areas of their development.

p.4

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff prepare individualised risk-management plans. These are regularly reviewed and include management oversight. Plans include a summary, as well as a detailed risk-management matrix. On occasion, the two do not fully match up. This could lead to confusion.

p.4

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Health and safety processes, including fire risks, are well understood. One staff member has responsibility for ensuring that checks and drills take place regularly. This means that children live in a home which is safe and where staff know what to do in the event of an emergency. Given children’s learning and communication needs, this is essential.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Management arrangements are successful. The manager is helping to clarify roles and responsibilities within the home. This is well received by staff. Feedback from family members and professionals is positive about changes that have been made. This demonstrates that children are being cared for by staff who are confident in the leadership of the home.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a clear vision for the development of the home. She has high expectations of staff. If difficulties arise, she puts in place processes to resolve these. This means that the staff team is increasingly cohesive and performing to high standards.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The monitoring of the home is effective. The manager understands children’s progress and staff performance. She has a strong focus on recognising the impact on children of the care they receive. For example, the manager’s overview of key- work sessions means that this work is clearly linked to children’s care plans. When changes need to be made, the manager ensures that this happens. This helps children to make and sustain progress.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Members of staff are recruited using safe recruitment practices. The staff team is largely qualified, and all members of staff have relevant previous experience. This Inspection report children’s home: SC472374 5 means that children are being cared for by staff who have the skills and knowledge to do so competently.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision of their practice. This has improved under the leadership of the current manager. All staff meet regularly with a senior member of staff to discuss their performance. Staff can raise any concerns about how care is provided to children. This helps to reduce complacency and elevates the role of all staff in children’s progress.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff undertake training and development to improve their knowledge and skills. This includes learning about forms of communication and understanding the impact of children’s experiences. This helps to improve the day-to-day care that children receive from staff. The provision of this training also helps staff to feel valued by their leaders.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager works closely with a wide range of professionals. This helps to improve the way in which care is provided to children. For example, the manager discussed one child’s move into the home with education staff. This led to a member of staff going into school to observe the child with their teachers. The learning from this exercise informed the child’s care plan. This had a very positive effect on the way the child settled into the home. Inspection report children’s home: SC472374 6

p.5

Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff prepare risk assessments that consistently reflect current levels of risk. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)

p.6

Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. Inspection report children’s home: SC472374 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Middlesbrough Borough Council

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Middlesbrough House, 50 Corporation Road, Middlesbrough TS1 2RH

p.7

Inspector

Jane Titley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC472374 8 to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

p.7

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.8